SPRINGFIELD, OH (March 3, 2023) — The $6 million Clark County 9-1-1 Communications Center opened earlier this week, according to the Board of Clark County Commissioners and the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.
The state-of-the-art dispatch center project included $1.8M in new construction and about $4.2 million in technology costs. The project was paid for without raising taxes and used several different funding sources, including bonds, 9-1-1 Wireless funding and American Rescue Plan Act dollars.
“The community has long recognized the need for combined 9-111 dispatch services to improve safety and response times,” said Board of Clark County Commissioners President Melanie Flax Wilt. “Today, we can finally meet that need thanks to collaboration between the county and city, law enforcement agencies, townships and villages, and community leaders. I’m proud to have been part of getting this project over the finish line despite the setbacks of COVID and supply chain issues. Every member of our community deserves to have access to timely, streamlined response when life is on the line.”
The Communications Center was built to allow for increased efficiency, faster response times and greater communication among different Clark County agencies. The center meets state standards for Next Gen 9-1-1 compliance, including the ability to answer text messages. It also eliminates duplicated services and transfer from different dispatch centers.
“It has been a long time in the making, but the new Dispatch and all the new programing is amazing,” said Clark County Sheriff Deb Burchett. “Sheriff Office dispatchers, who have been cross trained to dispatch for Clark County, Springfield Police Division, Springfield Fire and all county Fire Divisions, will now be able to dispatch all first responders from a single location. I know the new center has boosted moral with our dispatchers. There are many people whose hard work and diligence contributed to opening this center, but I would like to recognize Major Chris Clark, Nicole Elliott and Deputy Scott Cultice as they in particular have worked on this project from the very beginning through opening day.”
More than 50 percent of the dispatch center’s annual costs will be paid for by the Board of Clark County Commissioners.
The combined dispatching operation includes nearly every local municipality, including the city of Springfield, the city of New Carlisle and all 10 townships in Clark County. Several smaller police departments, including Donnelsville, North Hampton and Tremont City, haven’t signed dispatching contracts, citing the $2,500 minimum annual cost as a factor in the negotiations.
A ribbon-cutting will be held later this spring.
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Media contact: Michael Cooper, Public Information Officer, 937-521-2031